ARA Review by mtnlvr71 of Cogrill's Mill

[mtnlvr71]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, Cogrill's Mill.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Review of Cogrill's Mill by Jack Lindsey

"Very English Humor"

As an American, I admit that I don't always "get" English humor. Perhaps if I lived there I would understand that which is supposed to be serious and that which is a "take-off" or caricature. And so I apologize in advance for my sentiments and comments about this book.

Unlike my usual practice, I read some of the other reviews before attempting this, my own review. I was surprised at reading these words: exhilarating, gripping, fast-paced, keeps you hooked and on the edge of your seat. None of these struck me as quite the thing. I related more to the descriptive word, lighthearted, which I found more than once. In truth, I had to scroll up to the top of the Amazon page to make sure I was on the correct Cogrill's Mill page. Could these people have read the same book as I did?

It seemed to me that the writer had to be English, and so I read his brief bio. Yes, he lives in England. His real name is Keith Jahans and he has a great deal of writing experience. Cogrill's Mill was his first novel, released in 2005.

The book is described as an energetic, witty ride. Indeed, the characters and places have witty names, I suppose, although I was not sure whether they were witty or serious. Last names such as Clitterbooth, Quilt, Tumbleweed, Witterworth, Cornslinger, Clayburger and Gleefield, left me wondering, but were hilarious when read aloud and altogether. Then there was the butler named Grumage, just Grumage, no other name. The town's name gave me a chuckle. It is called Mucklesbury on the River Muckle. Also, I found the local band rather amusing--Jimmy Thropp and his Turnip Thumpers.

So far as being energetic is concerned, I beg to differ. The protagonist, George Cogrill is anything but ambitious. At the age of thirty his aunt took matters into her own hands, executing some rather drastic steps to push George into making something of himself. The rest of the book dwells on George's effort to do anything but that. Even though he has talent in more than one area, he has little interest in going public with it. He is quite content to putter around the garden, or stroll in the woods taking pictures, or painting, or making what we Americans call "hard" cider.

There is a lot of alcohol consumed within the pages. One of George's favorite things to do is spend time at the town pub where one of the townspeople might suggest he "'ave a ha pint o' zider." Author Lindsey gave the locals a way of speaking dialect to which he remained faithful throughout the book.

Whenever a character appeared, there were details of their clothing, for example,; "Both women were wearing long overcoats. Linda's was black, Vicky's blue." It seemed as if George could not leave the house without a description of his clothing. His attire was quaint, but, for me, it was oftentimes too much information.

One of the blessings of the book, for me, was that I could easily put it down. Lots of times I read in bed. I must be careful not to pick up a "page-turner" for that purpose lest I loose sleep staying awake through the exciting scenes. Cogrill's Mill was a perfect book to read in bed as it allowed me to sleep quite nicely.

My rating for this book is four stars out of five,, withholding just one star.

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